Hi JD,
Here is the list of names and positions you might want to contact:
Gilles Pepin, President and CEO.
Jonathan Sharp, KeySoft architect and software development manager.
Lucia Gomez, BrailleNote Product Manager.
And others.
-----Original Message-----
From: jd [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2009 7:24 PM
To: Alex Hall; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]
Subject: Re: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
Hello:
Humanware decisions come from the top, not from the
bottom. I feel that a dialog with the company's CEO
andor Vice-Presidents may prove more beneficial than
writing to Tech or Customer Support. The decision
is a managerial one and if we can pinpoint the
person who has the power we can have a better chance
to make a difference.
I don't feel that a petition would have the impact
of many letters addressed to the CEO.
If you can provide a name and address I'll send a
letter or three.
JD Townsend
Helping the light dependent to see.
Daytona Beach, Florida, Earth
> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Alex Hall" <[email protected]
>To: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected]>,"'Joe
Orozco'" <[email protected]>,"'BN List'"
<[email protected]
>Date sent: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 20:51:38 -0500
>Subject: Re: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
>The thought strikes me that, instead of a petition,
we just get a brief "why
>you should release it" text from every interested
party, whether a possible
>programmer or just someone who feels that they, and
other users, would
>benefit from an SDK. We then compile all of the
texts into a single, huge
>email, and send it to hw tech support as well as
customer service. Thoughts?
>Have a great day,
>Alex
>New email address: [email protected]
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected]
>To: "'Joe Orozco'" <[email protected]>; "'BN List'"
><[email protected]
>Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 20:48
>Subject: RE: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
>> Hi,
>> I see your point.
>> As for assistive tech in general, I do have that
one as my final research
>> area. But as it is, I (and others) would like to
start contributing to
>> small
>> things before moving onto big things. I plan to
teach computer science to
>> future students, but as it turns out, the best way
to teach it is via
>> trials
>> and errors (I learned this rule during my C++
class).
>> As for the petition, if we phrase it right, we can
hit a jackpot - the
>> text
>> of the petition should be simplified so that even a
newbie can understand
>> it.
>> Cheers,
>> Joseph
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [email protected]
>> [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Joe Orozco
>> Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 5:32 PM
>> To: 'BN List'
>> Subject: RE: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
>> Well, let's be a little reasonable guys. It seems
a bit risky to base
>> your
>> studies on the presumption that you will work for a
specific company,
>> especially with one where you already know the
operating system is a
>> closed
>> one. It seems your genius should be built to help
improve assistive
>> technology as a whole rather than the features of a
single product. A
>> petition is unlikely, since most people will
probably not know what SDK
>> stands for, let alone how to use it to add features
to the device. I
>> follow
>> Alex and Joseph diligently, because your input is
always solid, but I am a
>> little surprised at the both of you for putting all
your eggs in one
>> basket.
>> Joe Orozco
>> "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn
his back on the
>> crowd."--Max Lucado
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [email protected]
>> [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Alex Hall
>> Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 8:23 PM
>> To: Joseph Lee; 'BN List'
>> Subject: Re: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
>> I agree. My goal for years, and my main reason for
going into
>> my field of study, was to work for HW writing
programs for the
>> bn, and it has always been my hope that an SDK
would one day be
>> available that would let me start writing programs.
Imagine
>> having more games available than just z-games;
keysoft-specific
>> card games, Battleship, and more... and those
would just be the
>> practice programs coming from the people starting
to use the
>> SDK. Then we get a timer instead of just a
stopwatch, maybe,
>> depending on how deep into keysoft we can get,
things like
>> creating a keybase database from a csv file instead
of having
>> to create the database ahead of time, and other
improvements we
>> have long wanted but never gotten. I am not
talking about huge
>> changes like fixing Word support (that has to come
from
>> Microsoft), but many other options, aside from the
few I have
>> put here, would be possible, and all it would take
is someone,
>> or a few people, with this SDK writing, testing,
and releasing
>> the programs. Best of all, if the person did not
want to, they
>> would not have to charge anything; at the very
least, they
>> could charge much less than the $200 per upgrade we
currently
>> pay for. I can imagine each card game costing $5
or $10, for
>> example, and that cost would only be there to cover
the initial
>> cost of the SDK that the programmer had to pay.
>> All this opportunity, though, will never happen
since hw
>> refuses to allow its products to be expanded by the
very people
>> who use them on a daily basis. I, for one, would
sign any
>> petition put forth to ask hw to offer an SDK. Even
if it was
>> offered with the understanding that use of any
programs made
>> using it that cause damage would not be covered by
tech
>> support/repair, I would be fine with that. There
is very little
>> you can do to a bn that re-installing keysoft will
not fix, and
>> I would expect the SDK to have an emulator for
testing your
>> program before you ever put it onto an actual bn
product. HW,
>> please reconsider your stance on this important
issue!
>> Have a great day,
>> Alex
>> New email address: [email protected]
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected]
>> To: "'Alex Hall'" <[email protected]>; "'BN List'"
>> <[email protected]
>> Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 20:12
>> Subject: RE: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
>>> WHAT!!! NO WAY!!! We need something more drastic
than this...
>>> This is illogical: how can a product grow and
exhibit
>> potential when the
>>> very way of doing it is closed? We have people who
are
>> willing to do it
>>> and
>>> sacrifice time and effort for it. I am shocked by
this
>> revelation. Folks,
>>> we
>>> need another petition... NO individualized and
open SDK, no
>> potential for
>>> BrailleNote for future engineers!
>>> For me (and for possibly others), the prospect of
programmability of
>>> BrailleNote has been the driving force behind some
of us
>> taking computer
>>> science as our college major. The reason why I
decided to
>> specialize in
>>> assistive technology and embedded system all came
forth because of
>>> BrailleNote. If a very device was used as an
inspiration, I
>> view that it
>>> needs further enlightenment via an easy to access,
open programming
>>> environment where professionals and students can
showcase their
>>> engineering
>>> talent. Also, the overall perception and
experience of using
>> KeySoft can
>>> be
>>> improved if useful third-party programs from
professionals
>> and students
>>> (who
>>> are dedicated to BN) are released. I do understand
the
>> company's message
>>> that it needs to protect things from competetors.
However,
>> for things like
>>> this, I view that availability of the KeySoft SDK
would be a
>> far better
>>> solution for our future.
>>> Thanks.
>>> Cheers,
>>> Joseph
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: [email protected]
>>> [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Alex Hall
>>> Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 4:52 PM
>>> To: BN List
>>> Subject: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
>>> Hi all,
>>> Just so everyone knows: I just talked with tech
support through email,
>>> asking about pricing and availability of an SDK for
keysoft,
>> like the one
>>> that Sendero Group uses. They said that the SDK
cannot be lisenced to
>>> individuals (the way they put it was "no public
SDK"), and
>> there are no
>>> plans, as far as my rep is aware, to change that.
Tech support was
>>> apparently unmoved by my point that so many little
things
>> that users would
>>> like could be solved this way, like metric
converters, extensions to
>>> keyplus, or a countdown timer. So, sadly, no SDK
for private
>> use, and no
>>> plans to ever offer one. Sorry to all that would
like to get ahold of
>>> one...
>>> including myself!
>>> Have a great day,
>>> Alex
>>> New email address: [email protected]
>>> ___
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>>> To view the list archives or change your
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>>>
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te
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Release
>> Date: 12/04/09
>>> 07:32:00
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>[email protected]
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te
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